Early Medieval (400AD - 1099AD)

Early Christians

Petri & Latinus stones

Description:

Carved around AD 450, the Latinus Stone (right) is Scotland's
oldest Christian monument. It was erected to Latinus and his
un-named daughter and would have stood by an early Christian church
and cemetery, pre-dating the later churches on the hilltop at
Whithorn. The inscription reads:

We praise you, the Lord! Latinus, descendant of Barravados,
aged 35, and his daughter, aged 4, made a sign here.

Latinus is the first Christian in Scotland whose name we know,
and his stone is clear evidence of the existence of a group of
Christians at Whithorn as early as AD 450. They lived on the edge
of what had been the Roman empire, which had collapsed and
withdrawn from the other side of the Solway Firth only a generation
or so earlier. By this time Christianity was one of the official
religions of the empire.

The fifth century missionary St Patrick also came from
Romano-British stock, possibly the son of a Christianised Roman
soldier or official. Although well-known as the patron saint of
Ireland, he was born and raised in the Cumbria/Galloway area.

The memorial is Romano-British in style and Latinus has a Roman
name, although his ancestor has a local Celtic name.

This stone was later reused as a building block in the medieval
cathedral, and was rediscovered around 1890.